MADISON, N.J., March 21, 2002 ¨C The No. 2 Penn State women¡¯s fencing team is currently in third place with 53 points after the conclusion of the opening day of action at the NCAA Fencing Championships being held at Drew University through Sunday. The Lady Lions are trailing No. 3 Notre Dame and top-ranked St. John¡¯s, who occupy first and second place with 61 and 57 points, respectively.
The scoring system used at the Championships awards one point for every individual victory by a team¡¯s fencers. Each team could have scored a maximum number of 84 points during today¡¯s action.
Penn State had its strongest performance of the day in the women¡¯s epee, where three-time NCAA Medalist Stephanie Eim (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and the 2000 National Champion Jessica Burke (Upper Marlboro, N.J.) used their Championship experience to garner 23 points to lead all teams. Eim, the senior captain, had an especially remarkable day as she dueled her way to an unblemished 14-0 record to take the lead in the weapon. Burke, a junior, is currently in sixth place after going 9-5 for the day.
In the women¡¯s saber, the Lady Lions earned 15 more points behind the efforts of All-American sophomore Heather Brosnan (Portland, Ore.) and two-time All-American Stephanie Tam (Coram, N.Y.). Brosnan now stands in 11th place after winning eight of her 14 bouts. Tam, a senior walk-on, is close behind in 13th place, as she finished the day with an even 7-7 record.
In the women¡¯s foil, Penn State wound up with results nearly identical to those in the women¡¯s saber. Freshman Meredith Chin (Wynnewood, Pa.) and sophomore Marta Grochal (Poznan, Poland) combined for Penn State¡¯s final 15 points. Grochal, last year¡¯s Silver Medalist, went 8-6 for the day to end up in 10th place. Chin, the only Lady Lion competing in her first Championships, ended up in 12th place after posting a 7-7 record.
Penn State veteran head coach Emmanuil Kaidanov was extremely pleased with the performance of his team leader, Stephanie Eim. ¡°She has been outstanding,¡± said Kaidanov. ¡°She is doing an excellent job.¡±
The women¡¯s portion of the NCAA Championships will conclude tomorrow with more round-robin action slated for 10 a.m. and the finals set for approximately 2:30 p.m.
